What Do Slugs Eat?

A:

Quick Answer

Slugs eat leaves, flowers, vegetables, fruits and decaying matter. Slugs enjoy eating tender, young leaves. They can quickly demolish the contents of a vegetable or flower garden. Most slugs eat at night and are able to consume twice their body weight in food.

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Slugs are good decomposers and can be useful when added to a compost pile.The damage caused by slugs to fruit and flower gardens leads many people to search for methods of eliminating them. Slugs prefer moist environments, and removing boards, rocks, overturned pots, mulch and other items that retain moisture in the area reduces the potential for a slug infestation.

Baits can attract slugs. Once the bugs are caught in the bait, they can be removed for disposal. An upside-down melon rind or a half-buried container of beer are both good traps for slugs. Slugs congregate on these items and either drown or become too sated to move.

Due to their soft bodies, slugs tend to avoid sharp objects. Placing crushed rocks, eggshells or diatomaceous earth around vegetation can hamper the slug's efforts to get at food. Copper placed around a garden shocks a slug as it moves over the surface, turning it away from the food source. Introducing natural predators, such as toads and nonpoisonous snakes, into an area can also deter slugs.